The consumer affairs ministry has shared with the commerce ministry a list of 46 e-commerce companies, which did not respond to mails sent to them for redressal of consumer grievances. Officials said they would come out with rules and regulations for the e-commerce industry once the Consumer Protection Bill is passed.
“We can easily imagine what the consumers must be facing when these companies have not responded to mails from our ministry. We have asked the commerce ministry to find whether these are genuine players and take necessary action,” said consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
The list, released by the ministry, has the names of several little-known websites like Aforserve, First-Cry, Kauna, Letsshop and iBhejo, besides well-known ones like Sulekha, Myntra, OLX and Skyteleshop.
Commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) will coordinate with state governments and the ministry to get to the bottom of the issue in relation to nearly 200 such companies.
“The Consumer Protection Bill has incorporated e-commerce as a mode of trade and they will fall under the purview of this law. Hence, violation of consumer rights by them will become an offence,” a ministry official said. According to a report published by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), online retail is expected to grow substantially. It also mentioned how consumers are now more aware of their rights. Even top executives of reputed firms have admitted the growing need to respond to consumers, especially online.
PepsiCo India chairman and CEO, D Shivakumar, pointed out that a significant chunk of consumers are now using smartphones for making online purchases and since they now have a bigger voice, companies need to strike a fine balance between price, quality and service.
The FICCI report said up to 67% of e-shoppers used social media for reading reviews of products.